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The women and children who saved the daēnā

There is a gap between the first guides of the daēnā and the Magi such as Huštāna, Gaubaruva, etc., who flourished in Achaemenian Persia. The Magi must already have possessed a canonical form of the Avesta when they prepared standard copies for the Persian kings. The scribes of the written versions of the daēnā –unlike the other Persian scribes who belonged to the third function – seem to have belonged to the priestly class. They used a new script for Avesta, “the Scripture writing”, probably similar to Kharoṣthi, and wrote on the tablets on hide. The oral transmission of the daēnā as a consecutive condition of the Magi and the written text corpus of the daēnā preserved in the Treasure(s) of the kings and in the Castle(s) of the archives (Library) indicate an intimate relation between the daēnā and xšaθra in the Perso-Aryan society, reflecting the mythical twins, *Yimī and Yima.  

The downfall of the Aryan Xšaça (the Achaemenian kingdom) led to lot of damage to the daēnā through the plunder and destruction of the palaces and temples and the massacre of the priests who were the repositories and communicators of the sacred wisdom. Alexander earned the titles given him in the Aryan tradition of “the (world-)destroyer” and “the murderer of priests”. The widespread slaughter of the magi caused great harm to Avesta learning –also a small part of India suffered Alexander’s conquest and the killing of Brahmans. Many of the Avesta texts were lost for ever.

In a short treatise, in Pārsīg, from Drangiana (Sakastāna), it is said that, after Alexander’s onslaught, a few men of priestly class escaped and fled to Drangiana. There was a man, called Sēn-burzmihr, who had compiled two Liturgies from Avesta books, viz. the Long Liturgy and the Short Liturgy. A few women and young children tried to study and memorize that book. Mazdayasnian women were admitted to full religious rites and consequently to complete educational facilities. Thanks to the women and minor children who pursued the study of the book of the daēnā arranged by Sēn-burzmihr the religion returned to Drangiana. 

The women and children who saved the daena.pdf

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